Concurrently, the loss of smooth-muscle lineage markers and matrix gamma-carboxyglutamic acid (Gla) protein (cMGP) in aortas was ameliorated by administering IMD to rats with VC, and the increased phosphor-Smad(1/5/8) and core binding factor alpha-1 levels in calcified vasculature were also reduced.
Matrix γ-carboxyglutamate (Gla) protein (MGP) is an important local inhibitor of vascular calcification, which can undergo two post-translational modifications: vitamin K-dependent γ-glutamate carboxylation and serine phosphorylation.
The recent generation of a matrix gamma-carboxyglutamic acid (Gla) protein (MGP) knockout mouse, which exhibits extensive and lethal calcification and cartilaginous metaplasia of the media of all elastic arteries, has refocused attention on the role of Gla-containing proteins in vascular calcification.